In which Peggy takes up surfing
by irisdouglasiana
Summary: Or, Agent Carter vs. sea creatures. (post-season 2)
The August heat in Los Angeles is unbearable, particularly when one finds oneself sitting in several inches of mud at a horse racing track in the middle of the afternoon. At least, Peggy is telling herself it's just mud. And their suspect got away: it turns out tackling a person on a moving horse is more difficult than expected.

Daniel gives Peggy a hand up. The entire left side of his face is streaked with dirt and sweat, and his suit is in even worse shape. "I think the universe is telling me to stay away from horse races for a while. You okay?"

The mud is caked in Peggy's hair, her blouse is all but ruined, and her pants are ripped. "I'm fine," she says. "But I desperately need a bath. And a drink. Also, I want to learn how to surf. I've been here for months and I still haven't gone to the beach."

"In that order? You want to have a drink and then go surfing?"

"All right. A bath and a drink right now, and surfing tomorrow. I think we both need a day off."

* * *

Rose is ecstatic. She's already giving Peggy tips as they load up Daniel's car, something about whitewater and cutbacks and barrels. Peggy barely knows what she's talking about.

"What about you, Chief?" Rose asks as they drive away. "You sure you won't change your mind?"

"Ah—no. I don't think so. I'll get something cold to drink and watch from the pier."

Rose shrugs. "Suit yourself."

"Ever seen any sharks out there, Rose?" Daniel asks.

"Really?" Peggy says. "I'm going surfing for the first time and you're asking about sharks?"

"No, that's a fair question," Rose says. "I haven't seen him, but Big Wally is supposed to come around Manhattan Beach sometimes."

"Big Wally?" Peggy repeats faintly.

"Twenty feet long. _Big._ Really, really, _really_ —"

"Okay, we get the picture. I think I'm definitely making the right decision by sitting this one out," Daniel cuts in. He looks a little ill. "I'll shout if I see any sharks. You ladies enjoy yourselves."

* * *

It's a beautiful clear morning at the beach. Peggy's stripped down to her bathing suit, surfboard in hand, and as she looks out at the ocean she suddenly gets a little nervous. She glances up at the pier, searching for Daniel. He waves at her and smiles. She waves back, feeling reassured.

"Ready?" Rose asks, stretching.

Peggy nods. "Let's do it."

The water is colder than she thought it would be, though certainly not as cold as the ocean in England. Her excitement grows as they paddle out to join the other surfers. She listens carefully to Rose's instructions as she lies on her stomach on the board and feels the waves roll underneath her. Then a particularly big swell flips her over and she swallows a mouthful of seawater and gags.

Rose helps pull her up. "You're doing great, Peggy," she says. "Now I want you to try to sit up on the board."

"Okay," Peggy gasps. As she carefully maneuvers into a seated position, another wave hits her and she goes back under.

"That always happens the first time," Rose says cheerfully. "Oh—keep practicing. I'll be back; this looks like a good one." She paddles some distance away from Peggy, and as the wave forms, she stands up gracefully and rides it almost all the way back to the shore. She is clearly not an amateur.

"Show-off," Peggy mumbles, falling off her board for the third time. She looks over at the pier, where Daniel is sipping on some sort of fancy cocktail. He gives her the thumbs-up. She restrains herself from returning a different gesture.

Rose paddles back to her with a huge grin on her face. Another surfer whistles at her and she whistles back at him. "How's the sitting up going?"

"I think I have it." Peggy's still wobbling a bit, but at least she's up. "Rose, that was incredible. You make it look so easy."

Rose laughs. "You have no idea how many times I've fallen over. Next, you're going to stand up."

"Stand up?"

"That's the whole point, Peggy. Push yourself up with your arms and keep your center of gravity low."

The first attempt goes about as well as can be expected. The board slips out from under her immediately and she falls flat on her back. "Get up, Carter," Rose says, starting to sound not unlike a drill sergeant.

It takes multiple tries, but after a while Peggy begins to feel steadier. "Okay, Peggy," Rose says, pointing. "I want you to try to catch that wave."

Peggy takes a deep breath, looking over her shoulder as the swell approaches. When it reaches her, she catches it and pushes herself to her feet, just as she had practiced. For two glorious seconds, she's surfing. Then she loses her balance and wipes out spectacularly. She comes up gasping and spitting out water.

"Peggy!" Up on the pier, Daniel is waving his arms wildly. She looks down just in time to see a large dark shape rising up almost directly beneath her. Without pausing to think, she punches it in the head as hard as she can as it surfaces.

The sea lion falls back, dazed. It makes an odd huffing noise and gives her an offended look before diving back under, nearly slapping her with its tail. Peggy's still in shock as Rose paddles over to her. "Are you okay?"

"Just fine," Peggy answers weakly. "I guess that wasn't Big Wally."

Back on the pier, Daniel has towels and lemonade ready for Rose and Peggy. He's shaking with silent laughter. "What's so funny?" she snaps.

He doubles over wheezing, leaning heavily on his crutch for support. "Oh, nothing. You're a natural, Peggy."

* * *

Peggy is in agony several hours later. Daniel whistles as she lifts up her shirt. "You look like a lobster." He hastily amends his statement when she glares at him. "You're the most beautiful lobster I've ever seen, Peg."

"Oooh," she winces. "Do you never get burnt like this?"

"Nope." He did come back from the beach several shades darker.

"That hardly seems fair."

Daniel laughs. "Let me see if I have some lotion."

He does, and Peggy sighs with relief as he applies it to her burned shoulders. "I'm sorry for laughing at you earlier. I did panic for a moment there. I'm glad you're all right."

"Thanks for looking out for me." She hesitates. "It was really fun today, Daniel. You should try it sometime, if you want to."

"I don't know, Peg," he says lightly. "You look a lot cuter in a bathing suit than I do."

"Daniel," she says, looking over her shoulder at him.

He sighs. "I hope you'll understand if I'm a little self-conscious. But it did look fun."

She turns around and kisses him. "Well. If you change your mind one day, you should know that I'm perfectly capable of protecting you from any rogue sea lions. Very nasty creatures."

"There's no end to your talents, Carter."

* * *

It doesn't take Peggy long to return to the ocean. She soon becomes a fairly proficient surfer, though she never surpasses Rose. But her real victory comes almost a year later, when Daniel tires of just watching and she's finally able to coax him into the water with her. In his own way, he picks up surfing far quicker than she did. There's nothing more delightful than catching waves and wiping out together.

They never encounter Big Wally. But whenever they go to Manhattan Beach, the same sea lion always makes at least one attempt to knock Peggy off her surfboard. The bugger _remembers_.


End file.
